Friedrich, who came to help Bohemia, lost his own territory, the Palatinate, as a price.

Seeing him, I knew I had to make a cold judgment.

Even though he achieved a dramatic victory by using his wits, the damage suffered by the Bohemian side in the last war was not insignificant either.

The direct troops under Count Turun suffered little damage, but the 13 Nobles, who fought bloodily against Tilly’s great army beforehand, took quite a hit and would need considerable time to recover.

In particular, in the case of the Palatinate, less than half of the 7,000 supporting troops remained, with only about 3,000 left.

They had ventured deep into enemy territory and were attacked from all sides, even taking a full-on magic attack from Tilly.

Of course, compared to the original work, which was almost completely shattered, achieving victory while suffering only that much damage was certainly commendable.

“Though I defended against the Emperor’s offensive, raising troops in Bohemia’s current situation is absolutely impossible.”

Since my father, Count Turun, knew this fact, he wouldn’t grant permission, and I also opposed reckless deployment in the current situation.

However, abandoning Friedrich like this was foolish, not only from a moral standpoint but also for the survival of Bohemia.

“The war is far from over. We’ve only just completed the early stages in a war that will last for 30 years, and with my intervention, the dynamics of power have shifted, so the war will likely become even more intense.”

The war would continue, and countless lives would be lost in the process.

In particular, the Emperor, who had tasted defeat in Bohemia, was likely to seek revenge at all costs, and to counter this, we had no choice but to draw in outside forces.

And that connection was Friedrich, who was right in front of me at this moment.

In the original work, Friedrich fled Bohemia, which had fallen, to escape to the Norland region where his family was.

There, with the help of Moritz, the lord of Norland, he dreamed of a resurgence.

That was by actively utilizing the Heretic Alliance that Anhalt had devised in advance.

“And thanks to that, the Sacred Empire would end up in a hell where all the countries on the continent were in chaos over religion. Originally, I would have tried to prevent this kind of situation from occurring at all…”

It was viewed as a crucial element that must be stopped when I was actively involved as a Paladin and a member of the Church.

However… in the current situation where the board had been completely turned upside down, I had to utilize everything available for my survival and the survival of Bohemia, whether it be external forces or anything else.

Not in a half-hearted way like Friedrich and Anhalt, where we all end up getting ruined, but thoroughly, as if sucking the marrow out of bones.

“If that happens, the Empire will be more shattered than in the original work, but frankly, I couldn’t care less. After all, we’ve already crossed the river of no return.”

The Emperor, Church forces, and the Empire had all become our perfect enemies.

Whether they fell or not was no longer a matter I needed to be concerned about.

Thus, considering the general direction of the future, I began to partially explain my plans to Friedrich.

The main goal was to draw in external allies to recover the Palatinate.

*

In the capital of the Sacred Empire, Vienna.

In the Great Hall of the Imperial Palace, at the end of the throne sat…

Emperor Sijip Ferdinand, looking down with a cold expression at the general Tilly, who was bowing his head before him.

“You lost…? To only a handful of heretics? Our Lord’s army, which serves the Will of God?”

“Please kill me, Your Majesty!”

General Tilly, lamenting as he repeatedly struck his head against the floor.

Seeing him, Emperor Sijip felt a burning rage starting to make his grip on the throne tremble.

Just a few days ago, he had been elated thanks to the victory reports from the Palatinate.

To occupy the stronghold of Friedrich, the enemy’s chief, was essentially like piercing the heart of the enemy.

Now, if he could carry this momentum into a victory in the Bohemian campaign, no one would dare oppose his will within the Empire, that much Sijip was convinced.

But that feeling of his was shattered by a certain piece of news.

The defeat of General Tilly and the victory of Bohemia left a significant scratch on the Emperor’s pride.

However, he was well aware that he couldn’t just recklessly order another attack on Bohemia immediately.

For a monarch overly zealous about religion, the situation of a heretical victory was provocation enough to stir intense fury.

But even so, Sijip was not one to be swept away by momentary emotions and misread the situation.

The defeat was painful, but in relation to this, Sijip began to coolly weigh the pros and cons of the incident.

“I secured the Palatinate, but losing in Bohemia is quite a blow. If I let this lie unattended, it could instill false hope among those heretics.”

In a time when religious division was intensifying and lords everywhere were eager to use it as an excuse to build their own independent forces, a defeat in Bohemia could damage the Emperor’s authority.

If this situation continued, it was highly likely that the lords, who had been suppressed, would rise up in droves against the Emperor.

However…

Despite the defeat in Bohemia, the overwhelming victory in the Palatinate was preventing the worst-case scenario from occurring.

Moreover, although they had emerged victorious, the damages Bohemia suffered from fending off the attack were not trivial, making it highly unlikely they could expand offensives to other regions.

In contrast, General Spinola of the Palatinate inflicted little significant damage during the battle.

Additionally, as time went on, the lords under the Emperor began gathering their armies, so the Emperor’s power remained not to be underestimated.

In such circumstances, the cautious lords were likely weighing the situation while observing the developments, and the Emperor felt the need to establish his authority once again.

“However, attacking Bohemia right now is not a good option. To engage a rampaging beast while it has its guard up means incurring that much sacrifice. If I were to lose again, I might truly lose everything.”

What the Emperor needed now was to turn the tides.

That is… to decisively show the lords what happens to those who oppose him.

In this situation, rather than engaging in a life-and-death struggle with a formidable enemy, the right answer was to take down a so-called easy target.

And the Emperor was well aware that a suitable target would soon present itself.

“If they are cautious lords, they would surely choose to observe the situation. But… there will always be fools in every corner of the world who fail to gauge the situation and act recklessly. Those fools will serve as sacrifices to solidify the Emperor’s authority.”

To extend their reach into another area, Bohemia would need time.

There would definitely be those who, unaware of this, would carelessly act out of intoxication from the small victory of the heretic forces.

If I could decisively deal with them, I could firmly capture the atmosphere of the lords inclined towards Bohemia.

“First, we’ll take care of the flies before targeting the wolves. It’s time to show these foolish heretics who the true ruler of the Empire is.”

And a few days later…

The Emperor Sijip began to hear the news he had anticipated.

A new rebellion had risen in the Bohemian region…

Upon hearing the detailed report, a chilling smile spread across the Emperor’s lips.

“Looks like the Evil Seed of Evil has begun to rise again. Ah, well… they’ve come crawling out. I shall deliver the justice of the iron hammer upon them in accordance with my Will!”